‘I would like to meet Adnan’s family’

A day after they were acquitted in the kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Adnan Patrawala, four men were released from Arthur Road jail on Tuesday.

mumbaiUpdated: Feb 01, 2012 00:50 IST

HT Correspondent Hindustan Times

A day after they were acquitted in the kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Adnan Patrawala, four men were released from Arthur Road jail on Tuesday.

Ayush Bhatt, Sujit Nair, Rajiv Dharia and Amit Kaushal have been behind bars for over four years. They were acquitted by the sessions court on Monday after the prosecution failed to prove that they kidnapped Adnan for a ransom of Rs2 crore.

“We are extremely happy with the court’s verdict. Our life has been very difficult since August 2007 and we are glad that the truth has finally

surfaced. I had prayed that if my son was acquitted, I would visit the temple in Shirdi. I will go there soon,” said Vandana Bhatt, Ayush’s mother.

“Since Ayush couldn’t complete his education, he will now focus on completing his graduation and then assist his father,” she added.

Echoing his mother’s views, Ayush said, “I have lost four-and-a-half years. I would also like to meet Adnan’s family, but I have been advised against it.”

Sujit said he would like to return to his home in Kerala and focus on his education. “I don’t think I will return to Mumbai for a few years. I will now go for further studies.”

Speaking from their residence in Malad (West), Rajiv’s family said that while they were elated that he had been acquitted, they too were planning to shift to their native place in Ahmedabad.

“While my son was in prison, we were sentenced to a life of social stigma outside the jail. People would look at us suspiciously and talk behind our backs. We are glad that the truth has triumphed,” said his mother, adding, “We want to go to a place where we can live peacefully. It will be difficult to start afresh because we are from in Mumbai, but there is little choice.”

The prosecution case was that Adnan was kidnapped on August 18, 2007, by five youngsters he had befriended at a gaming parlour in Inorbit Mall, Malad.

They called Adnan’s father, Aslam Patrawala, the next morning and demanded Rs2 crore ransom. When news of the kidnapping broke on television, they took Adnan to a secluded location in Navi Mumbai, strangled him and dumped his body in the bushes near Palm Beach Road.